2002 Japanese Grand Prix
13 October |officialname = XXVIII Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix XXVIII フジテレビ日本グランプリ |circuit = Suzuka Circuit |location = Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, Japan |circuittype = Permanent racing facility |lapdistance = 5.821 |laps = 53 |distance = 308.513 |pole = Michael Schumacher |polenation = GER |poleteam = |poletime = 1:31.317 |fastestlap = 1:36.125 |fastestlapdriver = Michael Schumacher |fastestlapnation = GER |fastestlapteam = |fastestlapnumber = 15 |winner = Michael Schumacher |winnernation = GER |winnerteam = |second = Rubens Barrichello |secondnation = BRA |secondteam = |third = Kimi Räikkönen |thirdnation = FIN |thirdteam = }} The XXVIII Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix, otherwise known as the 2002 Japanese Grand Prix (XXVIII フジテレビ日本グランプリ in Japanese, was the seventeenth and final round of the FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Suzuka Circuit in Mie Prefecture, Japan, on 13 October 2002.'Japanese GP, 2002', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2014), https://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr697.html, (Accessed 26/11/2019) The race would see Michael Schumacher complete a record breaking season with an eleventh win of the season, setting a new record points tally of 144. The German ace had dominate the weekend from the first practice session, and would go on to claim pole position in qualifying ahead of teammate Rubens Barrichello. Best of the rest proved to be the two of David Coulthard and Kimi Räikkönen, while the two s shared the third row. With so dominant in qualifying there seemed to be little hope of them being beaten on race pace, meaning McLaren and Williams would be aiming for their best starts of the season to try and ruin the Scuderia's day. Unfortunately for them it was the two scarlet cars that led the way off the grid, with Schumacher easing ahead of Barrichello to claim an early lead. Indeed, that meant that the race was effectively over by the first corner, with the #1 Ferrari rocketing away at the head of the field, with the sister car just hanging on. Behind, however, there would be some interesting developments, with Jacques Villeneuve getting elbowed wide at turn one, while home hero Takuma Sato emerged as the best powered runner, moving into seventh. Coulthard, meanwhile, would emerged at the head of the battle for third, although an electrical glitch caused one bank of cylinders in his Mercedes V10 to misfire. That allowed Ralf Schumacher to sweep through into third, having passed Räikkönen on the opening lap, although by that stage both Ferraris were out of reach. Indeed, on lap 20 Michael Schumacher was able to make his first stop without slipping behind his brother, although with Barrichello leading for a lap the German ace's hopes of a fourth Grand Chelem were over. Regardless, Barrichello's stop would promote Schumacher back into the lead, with the Brazilian unable to remain ahead of Ralf Schumacher in the #5 Williams. Once Barrichello got back ahead of the Williams it really was all over, with the Ferraris making their stops later in the race without losing any more ground. Behind, Ralf Schumacher would solidify his grip on third, while Räikkönen battled a throttle issue in his lonely run in fourth, with Coulthard dropping out and Juan Pablo Montoya having an unusually quiet race. All of the interest was hence being placed on the adventures of Takuma Sato, with the Japanese racer running in sixth place fending off the two s. Indeed, Sato would put on something of a show for his home fans, having to battle back past Jenson Button having slipped behind both of the French cars, only to be put back into sixth as Trulli suffered an engine failure. That eventually become fifth place, for with just five laps to go Ralf Schumacher's race was concluded by an engine failure. That hence left Räikkönen in third, having overcome his traction issues, Sato in fifth and Button, now dropping off the pack of the #10 , into sixth. Out front, meanwhile, Michael Schumacher would cruise through to claim another dominant victory, his eleventh of the campaign and fifteenth for Ferrari, equalling s record for most wins in a single season, set in . Barrichello was half a second behind to make a Ferrari one-two, their fifth in a row, with Räikkönen completing the podium. The race would prove to be the last for veteran racers Eddie Irvine and Mika Salo, as well as rookies Alex Yoong and Allan McNish, although the Scot was unable to start for after an accident in qualifying. Background Michael Schumacher moved onto 134 points after another podium finish, although that was overshadowed by more PR embarrassment for the German ace. Behind, Rubens Barrichello had secured the runner-up spot with his win, leaving Juan Pablo Montoya, Ralf Schumacher and David Coulthard to fight for third. It was the Colombian racer who held the advantage, five ahead of Ralf Schumacher, while Coulthard sat six off third place. In the Constructors Championship smashed through the 200 point barrier, ending the weekend on 205 points. Behind, had been confirmed in second place, albeit with less than half the points of the Scuderia, while were confirmed in third place. Elsewhere, were almost guaranteed to claim fourth, while moved level with . Entry list The full entry list for the is outlined below: Practice Overview Qualifying Qualifying Report Qualifying Results The full qualifying results for the are outlined below: *T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car to set their best time in that session. *'Bold' indicates a driver's best/qualifying time. Grid ** McNish was unable to start the race due to an accident during qualifying. Race Report Results The full results for the are outlined below: *T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car. ** Ralf Schumacher was still classified despite retiring as he had completed 90% of the race distance. Milestones * 146th and final Grand Prix start for Eddie Irvine.'17. Japan 2002', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2002/japon.aspx, (Accessed 27/11/2019) * Mika Salo made his 109th and final start. * Ralf Schumacher started his 100th Grand Prix. * Nick Heidfeld made his 50th start. * Final entries for Allan McNish and Alex Yoong. * 100th Grand Prix for as an engine supplier.'2002 Japanese GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2014), http://www.chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=2002&gp=Japanese%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 27/11/2019) * 50th pole position for Michael Schumacher. * Schumacher scored his 64th victory. ** The German ace also set a new record for most Hattricks - 12. ** Schumacher also set a new record for most points scored in a single season - 144. * claimed their 159th win as a constructor and engine supplier. ** The Scuderia also matched 's record for most wins in a single season - 15. * Rubens Barrichello completed a fifth straight one-two for Ferrari. * Kimi Räikkönen scored the 350th podium finish for McLaren. * Maiden points finish for Takuma Sato. Standings With that the FIA Formula One World Championship came to a close, with Michael Schumacher officially declared as Champion with a record 144 points. That left the German ace 67 points clear of teammate Rubens Barrichello in second, while Juan Pablo Montoya secured third on the final day with 50 points. Ralf Schumacher and David Coulthard completed the top five, with eighteen drivers having registered points across the season. In the Constructors Championship it was who emerged as the Champions, scoring a daunting tally of 221 points with fifteen race wins. were their closest "challengers", albeit with a huge 129 point difference between the two teams. , meanwhile, ended the season in a distant third ahead of and , with all eleven registered teams scoring points in 2002. Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown. 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